Don't let Marathon off the hook

A campaign appears under way to absolve administrators of the Chicago Marathon of wrongdoing.

Sorry, can't do it.

The heat, humidity and dew point were at dangerous levels. Not enough water was available to runners. Dozens were hospitalized.

Someone had to watch over participants, don't you think?

The tendency is to view the race as a minor sports event conducted by civic volunteers and contested by your next-door neighbors.

Perhaps that's partially accurate, but the rest of the equation is the Chicago Marathon also has a paid staff, premier athletes and a prominent corporate sponsor.

This isn't some pub crawl. It's billed as a premier sports event because it is.

With that in mind, as is the case with any premier sports event, the Marathon had a responsibility to ensure the safety of competitors.

A runner isn't a smoker who holds tobacco companies responsible for her cancer. Nor is he a coffee drinker who holds a restaurant responsible for a lap burned by a spilled cup.

You see, it isn't too much for athletes to expect an event to be canceled if conditions are unsafe.

They are competitors by nature. If they can't win, they'll go to extremes to at least finish what they start in a personal best.

Meanwhile, athletic events by nature encourage athletes to challenge limits. Their responsibility is to prevent the athlete from disregarding safety.

Runners agree to pay an entry fee to run 26 miles. That alone makes it obvious they aren't of sound mind no matter the state of their bodies.

In a way athletics are like alcohol. When you get deeply enough into a sport or a bottle, decision-making is distorted.

Somebody has to make rational decisions for runners on race day.

Regardless of the sport and regardless of the level, it's a badge of honor to do what they do best under extreme conditions.

What I'm getting at here is that somebody has to protect athletes -- from marathon runners to weekend golfers -- from themselves.

The NFL "puts skirts" on quarterbacks to protect them from cheap shots. Major League Baseball puts helmets on batters to protect them from 95 mph fastballs. The NHL puts goons in the penalty box to keep them from maiming opponents.

There's a responsibility to those who play these sports.

Chicago Marathon committees, administrators and corporate sponsor LaSalle Bank are charged with making sure runners don't place themselves in jeopardy like unseasonable, unreasonable heat.

It's easy to say a participant should stop running when elements are adverse, but logic doesn't apply in the heat of competition.

The athlete's ego takes over and compels him or her to attempt to accomplish remarkable feats.

Sometimes they are successful. Other times if they aren't supervised properly, they're hospitalized.

Athletes are in no state of mind to make decisions when adrenaline flows toward a finish line.

That can be said of professionals like the ones who competed for large sums of money Sunday on the streets of Chicago.

It also can be said of amateurs who ran, jogged, walked, limped and navigated wheelchairs with a goal to simply complete the race.

Many traveled from afar, were gouged for hotel room rates and wanted to get their money's worth. Those folks especially had to be protected from themselves.

The Chicago Marathon tried to do so but failed.